A Flock Of Turkey Vultures

I've been meaning to post this one for quite some time now. It was a dark day when I got these pictures and video, but this was just too amazing to worry about that. What I saw was a whole flock of turkey vultures!

I was on my way between two nature parks when I looked up and saw this flock of about a dozen big birds. I didn't know what they were while I was there because I don't have much experience with bigger birds yet. That will change, living where I do.

The birds were everywhere in the sky above me, centered around this piece of farm equipment. These pieces of equipment sit on top of the hills looking like dragons from the distance of the road. They're interesting just by themselves.

The birds were flying around everywhere, landing on the farm equipment and taking off again. I couldn't get a picture with the whole flock in one shot because they were spread out too far. It was also hard to concentrate because I was just mesmerized by the sheer number of turkey vultures in the sky.


It's been a long time, but I have a new episode of Rat TV for you! This one features, you guessed it, this flock of turkey vultures. They were up there longer than I was watching them, so it was easy to get a lot of pictures and a video.

As usual, my video isn't the best in the world, but it shows what it needs to show. I don't usually have a steady enough hand on the camera, but it's not too bad this time.

This last picture shows more of these birds over the hill. I tried to get as many of them in each picture as I could, but they were spread out kind of far. The video does a better job of showing the size of the flock.

On a different subject, some of you asked in my last post how killdeers got their name. I wondered about it too. It has nothing to do with killing deer. It is simply the sound their calls make.

Anyway, I've seen these turkey vultures near this place three times now. These are my best pictures, but I do have more. I tried to take a few while my truck was moving, so those didn't come out very good. I'll have to go back on a sunnier day one time to see what I can get.

I hope to be back here soon. My writing is beginning to come back to me, so maybe I'll be able to post more often now.

A Killdeer In A Cemetery

I found this little Killdeer in a cemetery near one of the nature parks here. I've been seeing a lot of these birds recently and this one seemed eager to have his picture taken. he wasn't the only interesting thing I found in this cemetery. I also found a ghost!

Just kidding. It was two ghosts. Or was it three? Anyway, I didn't get any ghostly pictures. We already had that kind of fun here last winter. You'll have to search my archives for those.

I had to really fix this second picture up because the camera focused on the grass instead of the bird. But I wanted to show you his long legs so I included the picture. I followed this bird for quite some time, but this was the only time it wasn't knee deep in grass.

If you click on this last picture you can get a good look at the bird's fascinating red eye ring. I think that's what I like most about these guys. Their long legs are amusing too.

I planned to write so much more this time, but the words just don't seem to be coming. I hope to be more long winded next time. It's still a fun look at this little killdeer. Until next time.